The Future of Congress Square Park (Portland, ME)

THE FUTURE OF CONGRESS SQUARE PARK Prepared for the Friends of Congress Square Park

PLACEMAKING PRINCIPLES, MANAGEMENT & BENCHMARKS

WHAT MAKES A GREAT PLACE?

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PLACEMAKING AT CONGRESS SQUARE PARK

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LIGHTER, QUICKER, CHEAPER 3 PLACEMAKING PRINCIPLES 5 COMMUNITY INPUT 9 POWER OF 10

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MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

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Event at Congress Square Park

BENCHMARKS 18 THE BENEFITS OF A GREAT PLACE

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ABOUT PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES

25 LQC food truck, seating, umbrellas & planters at Congress Square Park

In collaboration with Friends of Congress Square Park and through an ongoing grass-roots community process we developed the following resource: A placemaking guide to help inform the process, design, management, and vision for the future of Congress Square Park. The Friends of Congress Square Park is already working hard towards a more active, well-loved square.

Prepared for Friends of Congress Square Park Prepared by Project for Public Spaces (Ethan Kent, Elena Madison, Joshua Kent & Jessica Cronstein) Cover: Event at Congress Square Park

A pleasant August afternoon at Congress Square Park

WHAT MAKES A GREAT PLACE? PPS has spent almost 40 years working to activate empty public spaces and to create vibrant new ones. We have distilled the qualities that make a place like Congress Square Park great into the following four basic ingredients.

Activities & Uses

A great place has a range of destinations and activities that attract a variety of community members. The activities keep the public space lively, inviting, and safe at all times of day.

Access & Linkage

A great place is easy to get to and see into. Linkages and open sight lines should connect different destinations and help create a people-friendly environment.

Comfort & Image

Great public spaces are comfortable to use and help give a city a unique identity. Amenities, such as benches, movable tables and chairs, umbrellas and shade trees are essential in any good public space.

Sociability

A sociable place is one where people want to go to meet friends and interact with a wide range of people who are different from themselves. This at the very heart of what makes a great place.

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PLACEMAKING AT CONGRESS SQUARE PARK Placemaking is a place-led, communitybased approach to creating vital public spaces that build stronger communities.

Placemaking involves looking at, listening to, and asking questions of the people who live, work, and play in a particular space in order to discover their needs, aspirations, and vision for that place.

The Placemaking process is based on our belief that it is not enough to simply develop design ideas and elements to improve public space. Improvements need to reflect community needs. We believe that a public involvement process that defines and responds to community conditions and needs from the outset is one of the most critical factors in achieving a public space that is truly sensitive to its community.

Once we’ve received input from the community, we work with them to create a place vision.

In a similar effort, the City of Portland completed a visioning process that allowed for participation by the larger Portland community. Through a combination of efforts on-line, with neighborhood.com and Twitter, and multiple tactically placed signs around town, their outreach garnered over 650 responses. Those responses are invaluable. They start to point to 2

a better future for Congress Square Park, one in which the larger Portland community is invested in the square and a place that is one of the key Portland destinations.

Based on those responses, the Friends of Congress Square Park raised private funding to implement some of the community needs and aspirations for the park that are immediately obtainable goals (what we call Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper) like movable furniture, events, food trucks.

As William Holly Whyte said, “What attracts people most, it would appear, is other people.� The more people that are in the square, the more people want to be there, the more people are excited about the possibilities of the square. The results of the efforts are remarkable. The park is undergoing a transformation from a neglected space to a vibrant community place.

The momentum the Friends of Congress Square Park has worked so hard to achieve should be harnessed to keep going forward! Always check and recheck your larger vision against what the community wants! Use your LQC interventions to experiment with other possible moves in the future. See what works!

Place-led / Community-Based Process

LIGHTER, QUICKER, CHEAPER (LQC) A low-cost, high-impact incremental framework for improving public spaces in short capitalizes on the creative energy of the community to efficiently generate new uses and revenue for places in transition. The Friends of Congress Square Park is having great success with some LQC interventions. To create a lasting management structure, the group should continue to evaluate and assess, looking at which experiments are working, and expanding on those successes.

TYPES OF LQC EXPERIMENTS LQC Amenities & Activities

Flexible, low-cost amenities, such as the movable furniture you’ve put out in Congress Square Park, can provide a means to quickly inject new layers of comfort and activity. You could expand on those successes: perhaps you could paint the steps a fun and inviting color. Or add play furniture for kids and adults.

LQC Events & Intervention Projects

Events can build momentum. Your collaboration with SPACE gallery to organize events and art interventions throughout the summer and fall demonstrates a strong desire from diverse community

groups to use the square as an outdoor performance venue. The sizable crowds at events show that neighbors and visitors are also interested in attending such community events. These performances can evolve into ongoing interventions that provide experimental means of testing the community vision and adapting design and programming based on user observation and evaluation.

Square Dancing at Congress Square Park

LQC Infrastructure

The temporary “Bench with Planter” commissioned by SPACE gallery and moveable planters that are now used in the center square are good examples of light infrastructure and temporary structures that can transform underused spaces.

These structures can be used as an alternative to capital-intensive construction, or as a means to attract more partners for long-term improvements. You could consider temporary “maker stalls” along the back wall of the park to activate the edges bringing in a commercial element and highlighting emerging artists and entrepreneurs.

LQC food truck, seating, umbrellas & planters at Congress Square Park

World Cup live at Congress Square Park

Site wide placemaking principle

PLACEMAKING PRINCIPLES AT CONGRESS SQUARE PARK

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THE INNER SQUARE & THE OUTER SQUARE

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REACH OUT LIKE AN OCTOPUS

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TRAFFIC, TRANSIT, & THE PEDESTRIAN

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ATTRACTIONS & DESTINATIONS

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IDENTITY & IMAGE

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FLEXIBILITY IN DESIGN

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AMENITIES

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PLACE MANAGEMENT

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SEASONAL STRATEGY

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DIVERSE USER GROUPS

Market Square Pittsburgh, PA

PLACEMAKING PRINCIPLES

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Pedestrian Mall, Church Street Burlington, VT

THE INNER SQUARE & THE OUTER SQUARE

REACH OUT LIKE AN OCTOPUS

Visionary park planner Frederick Law Olmsted’s idea of the “inner park” and the “outer park” is just as relevant today as it was over 100 years ago. The streets and sidewalks around a square greatly affect its accessibility and use, as do the buildings that surround it. Imagine a square fronted by impermeable barriers — that is the worst-case scenario for the outer square. Then imagine that same square situated next to a museum: the museum doors open right onto the square; people sit outside and read on the steps; maybe a children’s exhibit has an outdoor component right on the square, or even a bookstore and cafe. An active, welcoming outer square is essential to the well-being of the inner square.

Just as important as the edge of a public space is the way that streets, sidewalks, and ground floors of adjacent buildings lead into it. Like the tentacles of an octopus extending into the surrounding neighborhood, the influence of a good civic space starts at least a block away. Vehicles slow down, walking becomes more enjoyable, and pedestrian traffic increases. Elements within the space are visible from a distance, and the ground floor activity of buildings entices pedestrians to move toward the space.

Key takeaways/Relevance

Pedestrians choose their path based on the expectation of a social, commercial or aesthetic experience

Activate blank walls with retail or art

Key takeaways/Relevance Activate the surrounding streets engaging ground floor uses

Active edge uses Clear gateways & entrances Focal points inside

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Pioneer Courthouse Square Portland, OR

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Play area Brooklyn Bridge Park Brooklyn, NY

TRAFFIC, TRANSIT & PEDESTRIAN

ATTRACTIONS & DESTINATIONS

To be successful, a place needs to be easy to get to. The best squares are always easily accessible by foot: Surrounding streets are narrow; crosswalks are well marked; lights are timed for pedestrians, not vehicles; traffic moves slowly; and transit stops are located nearby. A square surrounded by lanes of fast-moving traffic will be cut off from pedestrians and deprived of its most essential element: people.

Any great place has a variety of smaller “places” within it to appeal to various people. These can include outdoor cafés, fountains, sculpture, or a band-shell for performances. These attractions don’t need to be big to make a place a success.

In fact, some of the best civic squares have numerous small attractions such as a vendor cart or play structure that, when put together, draw people throughout the day. We often use the idea of “The Power of 10” to set goals for destinations within a square or street. Creating ten good places, each with ten things to do, offers a full program for a successful place.

Key takeaways/Relevance Connected to adjacent areas, edges Range of transportation options Vehicles do not dominate Shared space

Key takeaways/Relevance Choices of things to do Triangulation opportunities Clustered activity around destinations 10 + Places

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Gastown Steam Clock, Vancouver, BC

IDENTITY & IMAGE Historically, squares were the center of communities, and they traditionally helped shape the identity of entire cities. Sometimes a fountain was used to give the square a strong image: Think of the majestic Trevi Fountain in Rome or the Swann Fountain in Philadelphia’s Logan Circle. The image of many squares was closely tied to the great civic buildings located nearby, such as cathedrals, city halls, or libraries. Today, creating a square that becomes the most significant place in a city–that gives identity to whole communities–is a huge challenge, but meeting this challenge is absolutely necessary if great civic squares are to return.

Key takeaways/Relevance Showcases local assets, culture & civic identity Contextual signage Educational opportunities Distinctive places

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Bryant Park New York, New York

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Outdoor Reading Room Amsterdam,

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Perth Cultural Centre Perth, Australia

FLEXIBILITY IN DESIGN

AMENITIES

PLACE MANAGEMENT

The use of a place changes during the course of the day, week, and year. To respond to these natural fluctuations, flexibility needs to be built in. Instead of a permanent stage, for example, a retractable or temporary stage could be used.

Likewise, it is important to have on-site storage for movable chairs, tables, umbrellas, and games so they can be used at a moment’s notice.

A place should feature amenities that make it comfortable for people to use. A bench or waste receptacle in just the right location can make a big difference in how people choose to use a place. Lighting can strengthen a square’s identity while highlighting specific activities, entrances, or pathways. Public art can be a great magnet for children of all ages to come together.

Whether temporary or permanent, a good amenity will help establish a convivial setting for social interaction.

The best places are ones that people return to time and time again. The only way to achieve this is through a management plan that understands and promotes ways of keeping the place safe and lively. For example, a good manager understands existing and potential users and gears events to both types of people. Good managers become so familiar with the patterns of how people use the park that waste receptacles get emptied at just the right time and refreshment stands are open when people most want them.

Form supports function

Key takeaways/Relevance

Key takeaways/Relevance

Experiments with low cost improvements

Comfortable places to sit

Security

Attracts a cross-section of users

Maintenance

Source of local/regional civic pride & ownership

Knowledgeable & accessible staff

Key takeaways/Relevance Overlapping and changing uses

Ongoing visible improvement efforts

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Holiday Market Bryant Park New York, NY

SEASONAL STRATEGY

DIVERSE USER GROUPS

A successful place can’t flourish with just one design or management strategy. Great places such as Bryant Park, the plazas of Rockefeller Center, and Detroit’s new Campus Martius change with the seasons. Skating rinks, outdoor cafés, markets, horticulture displays, art and sculpture help adapt our use of the space from one season to the next.

The design, uses, and programming of a destinations should reflect the local culture and community. There should be places for people to gather and socialize along the street and no one group or use should dominate (ethnicities, ages, interests, economic means, etc.)

Key takeaways/Relevance Flower Show, Skating Rink, Fashion Show, Christmas Market, Play Equipment, Cultural Festival, etc.

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Pioneer Courthouse Square Portland, OR

Key takeaways/Relevance Attract key mix of users like families, elderly, and women

COMMUNITY INPUT larger community (659 responses!) and has a good idea of the kinds of activities and amenities people want. Some of those requests require some interpretation.

Through Twitter, Neighborhood.com, and strategically placed request boards at City Hall, PMA Plaza, the Schwartz Buildings 1 & 2, and in Congress Square Park itself, the City of Portland has gotten input from the

The below two graphs illustrate ideas grouped by themes submitted by the community categorized by desired amenities and activities and qualities for Congress Square Park.

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REQUESTED AMENITIES AND ACTIVITIES

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GR SAFE EE TY NS DE PA VE CE LO SH PM AR EN ED T ST FA RE MI LY ET S FR IEN UR BA DL Y N MA SQU AR IN TE E NA NC SO E CIA BIL CL A OC CTI ITY K M VE E HI DG AIN ST ES TE OR N IC CH ANC E AR AC TE R FU N

MOVIES

BIG PIANO

TABLE

FOUNTAIN

ARTS FARMERS

MUSIC

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FO RF OD OR MA LO N WE CE S RS /G AR RE T EN SP AC WA FU E TE RN RE RF ITU TA EA I R L TU E /M RE AR KE /F T OU NT RE DO AIN LIG GP IO US AR SE K RV ICE S GA PL ME AY S GR OU RE N D ST RO OM S RID ES EV EN HO TS SC ME RE LE EN SS SH SK ELTE AT R EP AR BE K ER /W IN E WI FI SH EL AD EC E TR AR ICA C LIB L O ADE RA RY U /BO TLE TS OK ST SO OR LA E RP AN EL S ICE R I N CA K BS TA CO ND MM PA RK UN IN ITY G BO AR D LIG HT S

CAFE

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PUBLIC

INTERACTIVE

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SEATING OPTIONS

MOVABLE SEATING

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TR EE S

NUMBER OF REQUESTS

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REQUESTED QUALITIES

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POTENTIAL SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES In order for a public space to work activities must be layered, the space must remain active throughout the day, week, month, and year.

This matrix represents a potential schedule based on the community input.

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ACTIVITIES

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LUNCH

AFTERNOON

EVENING

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AFTERNOON

EVENING

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Food trucks Outdoor cafés

PERFORMANCES Music Movies Circus street performers puppets

ART public Interactive arts digital media

EVENTS Farmers market Arts Market Beer / Wine Holiday Market

LEISURE table games lawn games arcade giant hopscotch library/bookstore retail dog park

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POWER OF 10 To be successful, cities need destinations.

They need destinations that give an identity and image to their communities and that help attract new residents, businesses and investment, but they also need strong community destinations for people to go to.

A destination might be a downtown square, a main street, a waterfront, a park, or a museum. Cities of all sizes should have at least ten destinations where people want to be. What makes each destination successful is that it has places within it. For example, a square needs at least ten places: a café, a children’s play area, a place to read the paper or drink a cup of coffee, a place to sit, somewhere to meet friends, etc. Within each of the places, there should be at least ten things to do. Cumulatively, these activities, places and destinations are what make a great city.

This is a big idea that PPS calls the “Power of 10”.

Congress Square Park is positioned to become one of the great destinations in Portland. It should offer the places and things to do that will continue to draw people to it on a daily basis. The activities that enliven and define Congress Square Park can make it one of these special destinations for Portland. Congress Square Park is poised to define Portland’s growing arts district, helping to spur Portland’s creative economy.

PLACE

10+ things to do layered to create synergy

DESTINATION

10+ Places to go

CITY/REGION

10+ major Destinations

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POWER OF 10 AT CONGRESS SQUARE PARK 10+ places with 10+ things to do in each place

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Urban Garden Restaurant A restaurant could be a great way to activate the back of the square, creating a wellused back edge and generating revenue for the square. A deck could be attached to the restaurant in the back and would allow seating to be elevated over the roots of the trees and enabling diners to enjoy the shade from the existing tree canopy. This back wall is also an opportunity to put in narrow retail that could highlight local artists.

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Interactive Art / Play Area A play area next to the restaurant seating could allow parents something to do while they watch their children play. Also, having the play area in that back corner makes the entire square feel safer and more loved, drawing people in and through the square.

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Performance Area The stage can continue to accommodate a number of activities- a big screen, live music, theatrical performances, etc...

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Center Square The center of the square could host everyday amenities like the movable furniture, table games, and food trucks, but also the special events like the farmers and arts markets. To encourage accessibility and a unified larger square minimize the sunken nature of the square.

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The planting beds at the edge of the square create a physical and visual wall. The edges should be permeable and inviting — easy physical and visual access to a place are essential in a great place. This area could include comfortable benches triangulated near other amenities like food trucks, and moveable planters. Likewise, the clock hinders access to the square and creates a recessed, hidden space that affects safety.

Game Area This area could host all of the more active games, such as giant hopscotch, chess, as well as the table games and outdoor library.

Entry (Front Porch)

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Active Retail Edge

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Shared Space

Entry point for the square could be defined by some sort of visual anchor that draws people from blocks away. A feature that can be both a meeting point, a place to sit, and an element to help draw people into the square.

Cafe Area Outdoor cafe seating with planters, shade for people watching, morning coffee or an evening drink.

Permeable Edge with Shaded Seating

It’s important to connect across the street.

As people approach the space activity should be visible, and in this case the ground floor retail spaces across the street could help further define the life of the square.

The car orientation of the intersection is a limiting factor for the square. The whole intersection could become an extension of the square, leading a U.S. model of shared space intersection design.

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MANAGEMENT STRATEGY The success of any public space depends, above all, on its management. A management entity, a Place Manager, or a public-private partnership could all be considered as a ways to manage Congress Square Park in the future.

There are many different models of square management as well as different levels of cost and investment ranging on a scale from mostly public with some programming support from community partners to a non-profit or a development corporation becoming the main manager of a park with some supplemental services provided by the city. Some useful generalizations can be made regarding the successful management of great public spaces. Not withstanding Lesson One, “there is no formula”, there are several other lessons.

Whichever structure you decide to go with, the Friends of Congress Square Park will have to work with the city department of parks. It is essential that there be a formal agreement with the City of Portland, with your relationship codified in a comprehensive management contract.

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Lesson One: There Is No Formula Although there are many successful models, each organizational arrangement is unique. Each has its own set of actors, contracts, memoranda of understanding, operating guidelines, or informal understandings. Each arrangement is crafted to fit local circumstances from the resources at hand. These resources include the “public space partners” themselves: property owners and managers, tenants, customers, the municipality, community organizations and institutions, neighborhood residents, transit riders and any other stakeholder that has an interest in, or a veto power over, the space. They include financial resources, volunteer time, in-kind contributions, the virtues of the particular location, and the configuration of the physical space itself. Some of these could be modest arrangements; others can be very elaborate with a special organization created to manage the public space.

Lesson Two: A Private-Sector Component is Universal Good examples can run the gamut of public-private partnership arrangements.

There are cases where ownership and management are both private, but there are almost no cases where both are exclusively public. It seems that the entrepreneurial requirements of successful public space management inevitably push the organizational arrangements towards the flexibility and nimbleness of the private (usually not-for-profit) sector. This is not surprising, as strong programming, marketing and fundraising capabilities are essential, and these are often found in private and non-profit organizations.

A property manager seeking to activate a space should look first for an existing, district-wide public-private partnership or business improvement effort. Offering the use of a public plaza or an underused park for an event looking for a home, or connecting with an existing vending program that can animate the space and be managed by others may entail very little time and money but yield substantial returns.

Lesson Three: Coordinated Management Is Very Important

Lesson Four: The Management Of Public Spaces Is A Specialized Skill

Lesson Five: Managing A Public Space Can Bring Great Benefits

Management of the space as a whole, with all management functions coordinated on behalf of a single vision for the space is very important. Even if there is not a single manager for all functions, coordination among those responsible for separate functions is essential. Further, the ability to implement and enforce, with a clear delineation of roles, is necessary for smooth operations. Clear policies specifically for the space, as opposed to buildings, should be put in place.

The best public spaces are not managed as an afterthought to building or facilities management. This could mean as little as assigning one member of the property management staff special responsibility to develop policies and oversee all aspects of the space -- an easy way to get into the public space management business simply by focusing attention on it. Or it could be as elaborate as playing an active role in the creation of a new business improvement district or parks district with a large vision for the entire district -- a complicated and sophisticated, but very exciting and rewarding civic venture to which a property manager has much to contribute.

Managing a public space successfully can be costly, but it can also generate social and economic returns. Programming can raise a considerable amount of direct revenue, sometimes enough to support itself, but it has wider economic and social impacts as well: communities benefit socially, culturally and educationally; neighborhoods become safer and more livable; local retail sales increase; economic opportunities for residents improve; transit ridership increases. Initially, little return might be seen, but with consistent and gradually expanding programming and marketing, a public space can become a major engine of the social and economic wellbeing of the community.

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THE PRINCIPAL MANAGEMENT TASKS Maintenance

Programming

Fundraising

The more used and loved a public space is, the more maintenance it requires. Keeping maintenance standards high will be critical to the success of this square and the surrounding development. Prompt attention to items that could be easily deferred, such as a broken fountain or removal of graffiti, will show that someone is in charge, that the facility is respected, and that the public is protected. Maintenance also goes into the future, Congress Square Park needs to find a sustainable system to keep the square maintained in the coming years.

“Programming� refers to the wide variety of planned activities and to all the facilities and equipment related to them:

Raising money to support the square from a variety of funding sources is key to creating a vibrant, well-maintained space.

Establishing a not-for-profit to seek grant money and donations, and raising money from user fees and rentals, will be important to supplement the grant for the square. In addition, neighbors and surrounding businesses could become financial partners through annual membership or sponsorship opportunities.

Scheduling the performances and events that will take place throughout the year Curating and producing a regular concert series or yearly festival Furnishing the space appropriately, for example, with chairs and tables that can be moved from sun to shade and back Preparing a retail program, with vending carts or a seasonal cafe Operating a regular farmers’ market Hosting a community gathering

Programming a public space successfully is an entrepreneurial art; the programmer drives the content the way a curator does in a museum.

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MANAGEMENT STRUCTURES At PPS we say that “You are never done.�

Ongoing management of a public space is essential to making it a loved and used space. Amenities wear out, needs change and other things happen in an urban environment. Being open to the need for change and having the management flexibility to enact that change is what builds great public spaces and great cities and towns.

Going forward, we see three ways for the Friends of Congress Square Park to maintain management standards into the future. Strengthen your current operation, partner with a similar, established nonprofit in the area, or to reach out to partners, taking the role of coordinator more than programmer.

The first option, strengthening your current operation, would entail creating a larger structure for your organization: bringing on more staff; creating a framework into which to fit community volunteers; creating funding mechanisms; creating a channel for membership.

The second option, partnering with an established non-profit in the area whose interests align with your own could provide you with a super structure. They would have in place funding and membership mechanisms, as well as staff. Most importantly they would have experience in maintaining a functioning organization and adhering to their own interests.

The third option, to identify and reach out to local partners, would put the Friends of Congress Square Park in the role of coordinator. Perhaps Friends of Congress Square Park could manage the volunteers and the events calendar, while bringing in local institutions with a vested interest to execute the events. Perhaps the local library could manage the book kiosk, or the university could do the AV while Friends of Congress Square Park provides the volunteers to man the kiosk or the concert.

These three options would allow you to look into and plan for the future of Congress Square Park, reinforcing all of the progress that has already been made.

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This part of the Perth Cultural Centre combines flexible lawn space, raised planting beds for edible agriculture, and seating.

Giant board games like Scrabble and chess are entertaining for people of all ages.

Painting the steps and adding the fun, colorful, elbow tables made the Brutalist, intimidating steps much more approachable.

This Kiosk cafe in Berlin is nestled in the park space, activating the pastoral park with activity.

This historic clock in Van Couver doesn’t impede foot traffic. Further, it serves as an icon, a landmark for people to meet and rest at.

This water feature combines the benefits of play, water, and public art.

This outdoor reading room in Amsterdam offers comfort and shelter, as well as activating the edge of the sidewalk.

This play area in Brooklyn Bridge Park serves as both art and a play area.

This kiosk in Travis Park, San Antonio, houses books and games for the park’s visitors.

Commissioned by the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art which is on the Perth Cultural Centre, “Appearing Rooms” combined public art, play, and water to great acclaim.

A wooden deck would allow people to sit in the back area while keeping the trees and their shade.

This blank wall was enlivened by painting trompe l’oeil windows and installing narrow (3’-5’ deep) retail spaces built by stage set designers.

Mario Kart was a great way to use the screen in the Perth Cultural Centre that was more interactive.

BENCHMARKS

Foosball is one example of a great game that everybody can play.

Wayfinding and information signs around New York City tell people where they are, what’s around them, and what’s happening around them.

Shared Space The zone of the street is no longer a different kind of space. The street is part of the square, the square belongs to people both in and out of cars equally.

The farmers market brings people for lunch, as well as shopping

MARKET SQUARE, PITTSBURGH, PA Programming and Activities

The inner square is flexible with movable furniture and shade structures while the outer square is chock full of activity.

In the tradition of the piazza, the square is ringed by retail and dining spaces both of which have significant sidewalk presence.

Further, the square provides weekday programming throughout the summer, with mid-day live music performances catering to the downtown lunch crowd - the MSMA also provides movable furniture such as chairs, tables, and shade umbrellas, as well as tents for larger activities. Kid specific programming like Mr. McFeely of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood bring families and children of all ages while playing on Pittsburgh pride (Mr. Rogers was from Pittsburgh). A partnership with the local library and a weekly farmers market make Market Square a full service square, providing amenities for people of all demographic backgrounds. Paired with these every-day activities, the square hosts

multiple festivals and fairs. Combining the everyday activities with the major events makes Market Square a great destination for Pittsburgh.

Shared Street During the most recent renovations in 2010, the street surrounding the square the two streets crossing the square were diverted to create a ring around the square, increasing pedestrian friendliness and outdoor seating. With a minimum of road signs, no curb-cuts, and no traffic signals, the streets around Market Square are testing the limits to which street space is truly public, shared space. Changes in texture and pavements delineate street from square.

Outer square commercial spills into the square, keeping it active through the night

MARKET SQUARE

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CONGRESS SQUARE PARK

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The table games pull in a diverse user group

The reading area is a great opportunity for a partnership with the library

Seasonal plantings enliven the walking paths.

and an audience

BRYANT PARK, NEW YORK, NY PROGRAMMING AND ACTIVITIES

MANAGEMENT

Through all seasons, Bryant Park hosts programs both large and small, serving all members of the community, as well as visitors.

From the winter holiday market and the ice skating rink to the summer outdoor film series, there are a number of seasonal activities, but there are also permanent fixtures such as the movable furniture, and the sandwich and coffee kiosks, the small restaurant on the 6th Avenue end and the larger restaurant on the library end of the park. The lawn is used as a lunch spot for workers from the surrounding buildings and the New York Public Library.

Bryant Park Corporation, a not for profit organization manages both day-to-day and long term maintenance of the Park. The partnership’s structure is much bigger than that of Congress Square Park, but it’s worth looking at a successful operation.

Though they spend a lot of money on maintenance, security, programming, promotion, and events (according to their 2012 Financial Report $8,360,202) they bring in a fair amount of revenue from assessments, sponsorships and contributions, restaurant rental, concessions, and other sources, from the same report $7,642,043, to offset the cost.

BRYANT PARK

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CONGRESS SQUARE PARK

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A pergola is a great shade option.

Seasonal activities, such as the Holiday Market, help to keep Bryant Park active all year round.

BENCHMARKS

Kid specific seating Colorful and downsized furniture makes the reading area extra kid friendly

The main plaza space is incredibly flexible.

Test kitchens offer a quick way to taste a lot of different kinds of food

Colorful, interactive, art objects offer both seating and a play area.

The bean bags soften the plaza and bring an element of fun.

HARVARD PLAZA, CAMBRIDGE, MA PROGRAMMING AND ACTIVITIES The Plaza hosts a cross-section of daily, weekly, and occasional events. Exercise classes of all varieties happen at least once a week during the day, usually morning or mid-day to incorporate as many people’s schedules as possible. The weekly farmers market attracts people from all over the area. Their occasional events play on a number of their strengths: some are aimed at the students, such as their ongoing “Pop-up Performance on the Plaza” series featuring musical performances, as well as other types of less obvious performances, such as the LITfest, featuring readings from a literary community of faculty and students. Others are aimed at all ages, such as their therapeutic

Temporary, interactive activities bring people in from all parts of the community

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petting zoo that mostly runs through Harvard’s finals, but attracts children, and adults, from all over the surrounding area.

The plaza also features a number of food trucks, catering to all tastes and budgets, that bring people to the plaza to eat their lunches.

The Plaza is morphing into an exceptional venue. In 2013, major renovations were completed, which made structural repairs and utility infrastructure improvements to the Cambridge Street tunnel beneath. Pedestrian and bike access was made more safe while providing a variety of informal seating areas and a flexible, open space that can be enjoyed by the campus and the community.

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The farmers market brings people more than just shopping

BENCHMARKS

The intersections surrounding the square feel very safe for pedestrians

Easy access to the lightrail broadens the park’s audience

PIONEER COURTHOUSE SQUARE, PORTLAND, OR PROGRAMMING AND ACTIVITIES

MANAGEMENT

Pioneer Courthouse Square hosts events all year round, with more than 300 days out of the year programmed. With so many events activating the square, it seems that the most notable, are those that activate the space on a daily basis such as their food vendors and the farmers market. Those are the events that make a space part of a person’s every day life, bringing them to the square again and again. While the day-to-day events are hugely important in making a space a place, the big events can remind people that they like a place, bringing them to the space for a special occasion can bring them to the space more often.

The management of Pioneer Courthouse Square is supervised by a thirty one member Board of Trustees including the City Commissioner in charge of Portland Parks and Recreation who automatically takes the thirty first seat. Ten members represent the community, ten the region at-large, and ten downtown businesses. There is also a seven person staff charged with directing events, marketing, and the day-to-day maintenance.

While, again, their organization is larger than that of the Friends of Congress Square Park, it’s worth looking at their structure.

Their income, according to their 2011-2012 Annual Report, and including Events & Sponsorship, contributions, Assessments, and Grants, equals $1,924,664, while their expenditure equal $1,905,632.

Maintenance: Because it’s clean, the square feels well-cared-for - people sit where there are seats The flexibility of the center square allows it to be used for many different kinds of events

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CONGRESS SQUARE PARK

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THE BENEFITS OF A GREAT PLACE?

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ABOUT PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES Our History & Approach

What is Placemaking?

Project for Public Spaces (PPS) was founded in 1975 to expand on the work of William Holly Whyte, author of The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. We are a nonprofit planning, educational, and technical assistance organization dedicated to helping people create and sustain public spaces that build stronger communities. Our pioneering Placemaking approach helps citizens transform their public spaces into vital places that highlight local assets, spur rejuvenation and serve common needs.

Since our inception, we have completed projects in more than 3000 communities in 43 countries and all 50 U.S. states and are the premier center for best practices, information, and resources on placemaking.

Through research, conferences, and strategic partnerships, PPS has been promoting Placemaking as a transformative agenda to address some of the most pressing issues of our society for the past 40 years.

‘Placemaking’ is both an overarching idea and a hands-on tool for improving a neighborhood, city or region. Placemaking is a quiet movement that reimagines public spaces as the heart of every community, in every city. Placemaking strengthens the connection between people and the places they share.

Placemaking is a community-based, place-led approach to creating vital public spaces that build stronger communities.

Placemaking involves looking at, listening to, and asking questions of the people who live, work, and play in a particular space, to discover their needs, aspirations, and vision for that place.

Our approach to Placemaking is based on our belief that it is not enough to simply develop design ideas and elements to improve or develop a public space. Improvements need to reflect community values and needs. We believe that a public involvement process that defines and responds to community conditions and needs from the outset is one of the most critical factors in achieving a public space that is truly sensitive to its context.

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Lunch Time with Food Trucks at Congress Square Park